Nancy Brinker Named May LUNGevity Hero

WASHINGTON, May 1, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- LUNGevity Foundation announces Nancy Brinker as the May LUNGevity Hero in recognition for her decades-long dedication and trailblazing work in the fight against cancer. A true pioneer of the advocacy movement, Ms. Brinker gave a national voice to cancer patients, their friends, and families and set a model for success for today's advocacy organizations around the world. Brinker's passion and leadership in the quest to bring an end to breast cancer resonated with millions, and mobilized women across the country to demand that breast cancer research be a key focus of the national healthcare agenda. Her belief in the power of grassroots efforts combined with corporate support helped to bring about a vital shift in our country's dialogue about cancer.

After watching her sister Susan lose her three-year fight with breast cancer, Brinker set out to raise funds to improve treatments and to open up the conversation, reducing the silence and stigma around breast cancer. The organization she created and named for her sister, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, began in her living room with $200 and a shoebox filled with names to call for donations.

Under her leadership, Susan G. Komen has grown into the world's largest nonprofit funder of the fight against breast cancer, investing more than 2.6 billion dollars in groundbreaking research, community health outreach, and advocacy programming in more than 30 countries. In three decades, the organization has grown into an influential model for other cancer organizations in how to engage the grassroots, leverage vital corporate support, and execute successful cause marketing programs to fund meaningful mission programs. Nancy Brinker has been a generous teacher and ally, sharing what she has learned to assist emerging nonprofits. LUNGevity has built on that legacy, advocating for lung cancer patients, supporting critical research, and addressing the lung cancer stigma that remains today.

"LUNGevity Foundation is thrilled to name global cancer community leader Nancy Brinker as the May LUNGevity Hero for her unwavering dedication to changing outcomes for survivors and helping to put an end to the silence surrounding the disease," said Andrea Ferris, president and chairman of LUNGevity Foundation. "Nancy Brinker created the model for today's cancer communities, helping organizations such as LUNGevity make significant progress in the quest to end cancer. Susan G. Komen has had an important role in making cancer a national priority and we are fortunate to have such a strong and passionate leader beside us in this mission."

Brinker's leadership has been recognized nationally and internationally. She was appointed to the National Cancer Advisory Board by President Ronald Reagan, appointed to the three-member President's Cancer Panel by President George H.W. Bush, named Goodwill Ambassador for Cancer Control for the United Nations' World Health Organization, and in 2009, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.

For more on Nancy Brinker, visit the LUNGevity Heroes blog at www.LUNGevity.org/heroes-blog.

For more information on LUNGevity Foundation, please visit www.LUNGevity.org.

About Lung Cancer

• 1 in 15 Americans will be diagnosed with lung cancer in their lifetime
• More than 221,000 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with lung cancer this year
• About 60%-65% of all new lung cancer diagnoses are among people who have never smoked or are former smokers
• Lung cancer takes more lives than the next three cancers (colorectal, breast, and prostate) combined
• Only 17% of all people diagnosed with lung cancer will survive 5 years or more, BUT if it's caught before it spreads, the chance for 5-year survival improves dramatically

About LUNGevity Foundation

LUNGevity Foundation is firmly committed to making an immediate impact on increasing quality of life and survivorship of people with lung cancer by accelerating research into early detection and more effective treatments, as well as by providing community, support, and education for all those affected by the disease. Our vision is a world where no one dies of lung cancer. For more information about LUNGevity Foundation, please visit www.LUNGevity.org.

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SOURCE LUNGevity Foundation